SANJIESAN LORE / Information travel
A letter changes knowledge when it arrives
A distant character can react to a crisis before the draft has given them a way to hear about it. Trace one letter or messenger through the scene sequence. The exercise concerns the movement of information, which can differ from the moment an event happens or the time a reader learns about it.
Give the report its own event
In an original example, a bridge closes in the hill town and a letter is sent to a distant market. Record closure, writing, departure, arrival and reading as separate points where the draft needs them. World Anvil’s timeline feature supports ordering events; the method here is to choose the events that carry this information. Do not invent a real-world messenger speed or silently add magical communication to make an awkward chronology disappear.
Read each reaction against the arrival
Find the first scene where the market character changes a plan because of the closure. Compare it with the letter’s arrival and whether that character actually reads it. A report held by another person does not automatically become shared knowledge. Mark a rumour, inference or deliberate deception separately from the letter’s content. If another route carries the news earlier, identify that route explicitly and decide whether the later letter still serves a purpose.
Keep the information route with the scenes
Save the small route beside the dependent scenes and note which details the recipient still does not know. If an event moves, recheck both the departure and the first reaction rather than adjusting only a date label. A delayed report can remain part of the plot when the draft shows its consequence clearly. The aim is readable fictional causality, not a claim about historical postal systems or a new official Sanjiesan communication rule.